Worth Knowing

Tribute Quartet bass singer Anthony Davis is graduating from Bethel University in Mckenzie, Tennessee, with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Notably, he maintained a 4.0 GPA through his baccalaureate studies.

The McKameys were scheduled to appear at Oak Bowery Baptist Church in Saltillo Community, Arkansas on Saturday, May 10th. That church’s sanctuary has suffered tornado damage so severe that the concert has been postponed to February.

Old Paths tenor Jeremy Peace and his wife Jennifer welcomed their third daughter, Elizabeth, yesterday morning. Mother and baby are both healthy and doing well.

In a statement posted on Singing News, Mark Trammell has announced that bass singer Pat Barker is leaving the group.

There are some things in life that you just can’t imagine ever having to do. What I’m about to say is one of them. After much prayer, fasting, and seeking the mind of God, our beloved bass singer Pat Barker has tendered his resignation. He is much in need of being at home with his precious family. While it grieves our hearts, we must honor his decision and begin the process of moving on with God.

We are once again reminded that the only thing that doesn’t change is Jesus. A new chapter in the life of MTQ. And, a new chapter in the life of the finest, most Christlike man to ever travel on a quartet bus. Pat has stated that he will be with us until early May and then will be going home. I would ask that you not only pray for us as we begin the process of looking forward, but also pray for Pat, Kesha, and their three sweet children. Pray that God will give them direction, peace, and spiritual strength.

Bass singers interested in auditioning for the open position can email a resume, recent photo, and two songs to mark@marktrammellministries.com.

Worth Knowing

Blackwood Quartet member David Mann is coming off the road due to voice issues. In an open letter, he commented: “My windpipe was full of mold that, I later found out, I had been breathing in from a mold infested vehicle. This problem had collapsed a portion of my airways, and prevented me from using more than 1/3 of my lung capacity.” On doctor’s advice, he has decided to pursue non-musical lines of work, at least for the next several years.

Worth Reading

On Monday’s “Creating Trends” post, Pat Barker posted insightful thoughts on the relative merits of gimmicks and the songs to back them up:

I was told by one of my managers in the early days of me traveling that most Gospel music fans were also wrestling fans. In those days I was still trying to be “High Church” in my presentation because that is how I was taught. The problem was that it wasn’t getting past the first row. His point was that most of the fans want a gimmick. They want something they can identify with every time they see you. That is true.

The dilemma is presenting the gimmick with class so it doesn’t come off as hokey or “local group” for lack of a better term. A gimmick can be anything from an old man to two microphones. It can also be a white flag or a passionate piano player. There has to be something that brings the people to the concert night after night.

Here, in my opinion, is where many groups miss the boat. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE SONGS TO BACK UP THE GIMMICK! Glen was always the old man, but they didn’t have their greatest success till We Shall See Jesus. Brian Free was always precious, but Midnight Cry was their launching pad. Gerald has always made fun of Rodney, but Lazarus, to this day, has to be sung night after night. Thank God that at the end of the day, whether you like wrestling or not, It’s all about the song. That’s the way it should be and I hope that’s the way it always will be.

Worth Watching

Also of note: Reality TV stars The Duggar Family attended a recent Collingsworth Family concert. They invited the Collingsworth Family over after the concert, and filmed and posted a video of the Collingsworth Family singing “God Bless America” a cappella in the Duggar’s living room:

Worth Knowing

Brian Free & Assurance lead singer Bill Shivers and his wife Michelle had a son, William Brent Shivers III, on Wednesday.

Daywind and Greater Vision held a preacher appreciation contest to accompany the Greater Vision single “Preacher, Tell It Like It Is.” They have announced the winner.

On Wednesday, Mansion Entertainment announced a name change to Mansion Entertainment & Marketing. They also announced that they have moved into a new facility that includes label offices (they’re still the label home of Triumphant Quartet and Three Bridges), an audio studio, and a new High-Definition TV studio. They posted a two-minute video tour of the new facility here.

Worth Reading

Dear Editor,Groups often do Christmas CDs, but have any groups ever done Resurrection/ Passion Week CDs? It would seem so ideal, because there are many songs about the cross, blood being shed, the resurrection, etc. Groups could do songs in any order or they could proceed chronologically through the week with songs about the various Passion Week events.Unlike Christmas albums which are usually only played between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a Resurrection CD would have year-round appeal to Christians.It would be nice to see Southern Gospel groups come out with some Resurrection albums!Sincerely,Daniel’s Siblings

The Paul Heil interview featured a number of tributes to the impact he has made on the genre. This one, from the Garms Family, was especially thoughtful:

On behalf of the family, I want to share a few words about the impact that Paul Heil and “The Gospel Greats” have had in our lives, particularly my own.

Our discovery of “The Gospel Greats” came after we discovered Southern Gospel music in 2005. One summer day, I was tuning the radio to a Contemporary Christian station that we occasionally listened to, and something surprising caught my ear. Yes- it was Southern Gospel music! I couldn’t believe it. A man’s voice came on after the song and proceeded to give the latest news in Southern Gospel. Another shock! This radio station gave Southern Gospel news instead of world news at the top of the hour! I was ecstatic, to say the least. 🙂 As we continued to listen to the radio station, we realized my naive mistake, but fell in love with the show “The Gospel Greats”.

Saturday afternoon at 4:00 PM found me (and any other siblings who wanted to join me) in front of the radio for those precious two hours of Southern Gospel music. We listened faithfully week after week, getting to know artists and becoming familiar with the current music. Sometimes we’d occupy ourselves with drawing or writing in tablets as we listened; other times we would be busy cleaning with every radio in the house blaring so we wouldn’t miss a single note! 🙂

When we subscribed to Singing News later on, we would refer to the latest issue whenever Paul had a new feature artist. (“Oh, so that’s who the Booth Brothers are!”) Springside catalogs were also my favorite items to receive in the mail, as I’d pore over them and study CD covers and song titles. (I still have nearly every one I ever received.)

I will never forget listening to Paul interview Dianne Wilkinson and Barbara Huffman. Hearing these two sweet ladies talk about songwriting inspired me greatly to write songs that would encourage, uplift, and teach people. I wanted to be just like them! 🙂

Many times Paul would play songs that blessed us at just the right time. For example, one time after Ben had learned of a fatal accident which claimed the life of a young church member, he turned on “The Gospel Greats”, and right at that moment The Talleys’ song “Life Goes On” was playing…exactly what he needed to hear.

Oh, the stories could go on of how “The Gospel Greats” were such an integral part of our lives, and how much they impacted and inspired us. Regrettably, we don’t get to hear Paul’s familiar voice each Saturday anymore. Both Minnesota stations that played “The Gospel Greats” ceased to feature them (to our huge disappointment), and besides that, we are often too occupied with our own singing ministry each weekend. But the memories we have of sitting glued to the radio, listening intently to every song, are irreplaceable and so special.

Thank you Paul (and Shelia!) for your ministry through “The Gospel Greats”! We appreciate it so much (and have friends that do as well). May God continue to bless your work and faithfulness. Also, thanks for the great interview, Daniel!

Worth Reading

There was a time I used to wonder why God instructed Moses to lift high a bronze serpent to symbolise Jesus. Why not lift a bronze lamb to represent the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? Further study of the word revealed to me such texts as 1 Cor. 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Then I understood that when Jesus, “the Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world,” was lifted up, in the likeness of sinful flesh, He was made to be sin for us as every sin on Him was laid. The bronze serpent was therefore a sound representation of Him at the cross. This also serves to show just how dreadful the load He bore was; so dreadful that a serpent was fit for His representation. No wonder He felt the heavy weight of separation and bitterly cried out to His Father. And how sad that it was our sins that put Him there, but how amazing that grace will always be greater than sin.

No wonder such songs as High and Lifted Up never fail to command praise from my heart each time I listen to them.

Coming from the side of traveling with Squire for 10 years, one of the benefits I see as a soloist who writes their own music is the interaction that it gives them with the audience. Let’s face it, one person standing and singing with soundtracks can be, well, not very entertaining. But when that person can say, “I wrote this song after I …” helps to pull the audience into the life of the writer and gives them a more personal concert experience. I’ve seen this happen with Mark and Kirk as well. Writer / artist don’t have to search for songs that speak to them that they can try to convey to the audience, they have the advantage of being able to write their story and then sing it. I know Joseph will be very successful with what his track record of writing has been to this point!

The Mark Trammell Quartet held a blog tour to promote their new release, featuring four simultaneously posted interviews with group members here, here, here and here. There’s also a contest open to win a copy of the new CD here.

Worth Watching

Here’s a personal testimony song that Joseph Habedank wrote and has been singing in his solo concerts:

Worth Discussing

Were there any other significant Southern Gospel news stories this week?

Quite a few Southern Gospel magazines and websites offer “best of” contests and awards shows. But they often cover much the same ground: Favorite artist, song, album, musician, singer at each vocal part, and the like. Let’s do something different. Let’s honor the best Southern Gospel videos—concept videos, behind-the-scenes videos (including studio videos), and live concert videos. For each category, we’ll do a nominations post and a follow-up post with a poll featuring the top nominees.

The Mark Trammell Quartet announced this morning that, after spending their recording career to date in the Daywind roster, they are leaving to launch their own record label, Crimson Road Productions. Mark commented:

We feel it is time to yet again stretch our wings and accept the challenge of not only broadening our own horizons but also working toward helping others reach for their dreams. I have personally enjoyed almost two decades of being a part of the Daywind Family Of Artists and we leave them with nothing but thankfulness. After 40 years of being in the recording industry, I have some ideas of my own that I would like to try. Bottom line, we have peace in our hearts that now is the time to begin yet another new chapter in the multi-faceted life of this ministry.

The label will be run by Trammell and his longtime friend Jeff Haney. Susan Whisnant will do their radio promotion. Trammell’s comments indicated that it won’t be a one-artist label, though any announcements about which artists will be featured are presumably a little ways down the road.

Crimson Road’s first release will be the next Mark Trammell Quartet recording, Your Walk Talks.

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Announcing expositorysongs.com

Daniel J. Mount has started writing about Christian music again! Check out expositorysongs.com. This website highlights songs where the main idea of a passage of Scripture is also the main idea of a song.

Anthology

Fifty of the best posts from Southern Gospel journal's eight-year run are now available in book form. Learn more here.